New York Rangers at St. Louis Blues NHL Picks & Predictions 12/31/2018

Monday, December 31, 2018

Enterprise Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The New York Rangers head to Enterprise Center to take on the St. Louis Blues on Monday, December 31, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Rangers at +135 and the Blues at -165.

New York has a record of 16-14-7 this year. They are 5th in the Metropolitan Division. They've tallied 109 goals and surrendered 122 goals for a point differential of -13. For the year they have an ATS mark of 16-21-0 and an over/under record of 19-18-0. St. Louis has a record of 15-17-4 this season. They are 7th in the Central Division. They have scored 101 goals and given up 121 for a goal differential of -20. Their record against the spread is 15-21-0 while their over/under mark is 17-17-0.

Valuable New York Rangers Betting Trends

The New York Rangers are 16-21-0 straight up this year

The New York Rangers are 19-18-0 against the over/under this season

Important St. Louis Blues Betting Trends

The St. Louis Blues are 15-21-0 straight up this year

The St. Louis Blues are 17-17-0 against the over/under this season

Key New York Rangers Injuries

12/18/18 D Kevin Shattenkirk Shoulder IR (12/18)

Key St. Louis Blues Injuries

12/30/18 C Robby Fabbri Shoulder is upgraded to probable Monday vs NY Rangers
11/19/18 D Carl Gunnarsson Upper Body is out indefinitely
10/04/18 LW Erik Foley Concussion is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Mika Zibanejad has scored 34 total points this year for the Rangers. He has 11 goals this season with 108 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 23 assists on the year and averages 19.8 minutes played per contest. Chris Kreider averages 16.9 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 19% by tallying 20 goals on 106 attempts. He has 10 assists, giving him a total of 30 points on the year. Henrik Lundqvist has 11 wins and 9 losses this season in goal for the Rangers. He has 933 shots against him and he's surrendered 81 goals. He's made 852 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Ryan O'Reilly has 34 total points this season for the Blues. He has 14 goals this year with 94 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 15%. He has a total of 20 assists on the year and averages 20.4 minutes played per contest. Vladimir Tarasenko averages 18.3 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 8% by scoring 11 goals on 131 attempts. He has 11 assists, giving him a total of 22 points on the year. Jake Allen has 13 wins and 11 losses this season in net for the Blues. He has 829 shots against him and he's given up 83 goals. He's made 746 saves for a save percentage of 90%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Rangers have 39 total points this year, which is 19th in the NHL. They've scored 109 goals while giving up 122 scores, which has them ranked 23rd and 9th respectively. They have had 108 power play chances and scored 22 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 20%. That is 16th in the league. The Rangers have given up 118 power play opportunities and surrendered 28 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 76%, ranking them 27th when short-handed. They average 28 shots per contest and as a team shoot 10.37% for the year. They allow 34 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is 19th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blues are 30th in the league with a total of 34 points this season. They have 23 power play goals on 109 chances for a percentage of 21%. That is 13th in the NHL. They've given up 124 power play opportunities and surrendered 26 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 79%, ranking 18th overall. As a team, the Blues are 27th with a total of 101 goals scored while they've given up 121 goals this season, ranking 11th in goals against. They average 30 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 9.31%. As a unit they give up 31 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 89%, putting them 29th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

New York is 30th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 45.4%, as they've attempted 1,928 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,317 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 45.5% as they have 1,440 attempts while they have given up 1,726 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 28th in the league. The Rangers start possessions in the offensive zone 47.7% of the time, which is 27th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 52.3% for the season. That is 6th overall in the NHL. They have 1,019 face-off wins compared to 1,102 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48%. That ranks them 23rd in the league. On defense New York has 959 hits and they have blocked 591 shots from the opposition, putting them 5th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Blues are 20th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 48.9% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 51.1% for the season, which is 12th in the NHL. They have 1,142 face-off wins compared to 1,049 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 52.1%. That is 5th in the league. On defense St. Louis has 742 hits and they have blocked 547 shots from the opposition, which is 15th in the league. St. Louis is 20th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 48.9% as they've attempted 1,959 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,045 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 49.5% ranks 19th as they have 1,468 attempts while they have given up 1,498 shots on the defensive end.

Who will win tonight's Rangers/Blues NHL game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take New York +135

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